"Today, we are announcing another critical step toward launching our astronauts from U.S. soil on space systems built by American companies," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said, according to press materials from NASA. "We have selected three companies that will help keep us on track to end the outsourcing of human spaceflight and create high-paying jobs in Florida and elsewhere across the country."

The Boeing Company was awarded $460 million, the largest chunk of the prize. The aerospace and defense company said it will use the money to further develop the CST-100, a spacecraft that will carry astronauts to the ISS.

SpaceX Craft Successfully Docks At Space Station Photos

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SpaceX Craft Successfully Docks At Space Station

This image provided by NASA shows the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft as it approaches the International Space Station Thursday May 24, 2012 for a series of tests to clear it for its final rendezvous and grapple on May 25. Expedition 31 Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple the supply ship about 8:06 a.m., Friday with the berthing to the Earth-facing side of the station's Harmony node following about 11:20 a.m. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval. (AP Photo/NASA

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"This is a decisive milestone in human spaceflight and sets an exciting course for the next phase of American space exploration," Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO and Chief Designer, said in a company statement. "SpaceX, along with our partners at NASA, will continue to push the boundaries of space technology to develop the safest, most advanced crew vehicle ever flown."

Sierra Nevada Corporation, a Nevada-based company, was awarded $212.5 million. The company said it will use the money to further develop its Dream Chaser Space System, a seven-person reusible space vehicle that launches atop an Atlas V rocket.